Pivotal Issues Blog

By: Mark Moore Ask Brandon Wuethrich to name a trusted partner in his farming operation, and his local Ceres Solutions Cooperative is one of the first on his list. Wuethrich’s operation, Top Notch Farms, located in Francesville, Indiana, includes brothers Chance and Dustin. They are the third generation to farm this ground, and the fourth […]

By: Myron Friesen The Problem My wife and I are both 75 years old and we own 700 acres with no debt. We have more income than we could have ever imagined when we started farming, and we don’t need it all. One child is farming with us, so we have time and financial freedom. […]

By: Alex Gray Rochelle and Evan Schnadt have been farming in Lodi, Wisconsin, north of Madison, for the past six years, and say they have always wanted farming to be part of their story. “We’re both farm kids: I’m from Wisconsin, and Evan’s from Iowa,” Rochelle Schnadt says. “We both grew up watching our parents […]

By: Marilyn Cummins Sometimes, letting go is the best way to hold on to what you love. On the R.A. Brown Ranch at Throckmorton, Texas, six generations of the Brown family, going on seven, have been able to “keep the ranch in the family and the family on the ranch,” in part by letting go. […]

By: Chelsea Dinterman In the age of social media, video calls, and smartphones, humans have never been so connected. Still, the constant chatter can make finding gems among the duds a chore. A new app aims to change that, matching information seekers with industry experts in just a few swipes. “The AGvisorPRO app is designed […]

By: James Tuschner Worn out treads on ag tires can cause slippage and reduce traction, adding more time in the field, and burning excessive amounts of fuel. Tire experts weigh in on the best time to replace them before losing out on productivity. If your tractor is experiencing more tire slip, and further inflation isn’t […]

By: Karen Jones The Association of Equipment Manufacturers (AEM) has introduced a free online safety toolkit to promote safety awareness, education, and training for operators of off-highway equipment used in agriculture, along with construction, utility, mining, and forestry. After completing a brief registration, users are directed to a set of materials tailored to their needs. […]

By: Raylene Nickel Jeff Steffen learned a lot about risk management while growing corn and soybeans through the 1980s on his family’s farm near Crofton, Nebraska. Then, poor crop prices coupled with dry weather robbed profitability. Some years later, prices and weather turned around, but Steffen was determined to make changes to prepare for the […]

By: John Schwarz The old adage, “Good fences make good neighbors,” has stood the test of time. A good boundary fence, also called a partition fence, has many benefits, especially marking the property line, as people generally stay on their side. I coined the phrase, “Bad (or no) fences make even worse neighbors,” because when […]

By: Myron Friesen Problem We are looking for someone who lives in our area to help us with our estate planning. Our only planning was done about 30 years ago. The advisers and insurance people we have heard all seem to have a bias. Our friends said their attorney steered them away from what they […]